10 Ways to Help Us Learn Self-Compassion

January 14, 2015 9:40 PM

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You know the old saying, "You can't love someone else until you love yourself"? True, but I think if you're waiting to love yourself before you find your partner, you'll be waiting a long time -- maybe forever -- because learning self-compassion is just so freaking hard. We all tell ourselves in some way, probably every day, that we are lacking, or sometimes even just bad: Our bellies are squishy and fat, our legs look like tree trunks, we have no self-control over food. Then there is the ensuing depression, anxiety and anger that goes along with it. Lord knows, it's my final frontier and one element of spiritual awakening that I'm afraid I will never master. But I'm determined to try -- not find it perfectly, but to find a little (or a lot) every day. Here's how we can start. It may be radical, but it's worth a try, huh?

1. Take that mirror off your closet door. You're thinking, "But I need it! How will I know how I look before I walk out the door?" Completely valid -- walking out in mismatched plaid and wild hair is not going to help anyone. But I want it out while you're in your birthday suit -- naked as a jaybird...